Darnelle O’BrienBasic PPC (pay per click) means you pay search engines (such as Google), a dollar amount every time users click on your ads and land on your website. Pay per click ads appear above, and to the right-hand side, of organic search results on a search engine results page and are usually triggered by search terms or keywords set by you.
Facebook and other social media platforms also have their own PPC advertising, however instead of setting keywords to trigger your ads you target by location and demographic targeting.
The great thing about PPC is being able to control which keywords, phrases and demographics will trigger your ads. You also control the maximum price (your bid) you are willing to pay per click. At any one time, multiple competitors can be bidding on the same keyword, making PPC competitive.
Getting started: Tips to Build Effective PPC Campaigns
Do keyword research
Make sure your campaigns are supported by solid keyword research. Over the years, Google has started to share some great insights to make keyword research super easy. Check out their free online Keyword Planner. Ideally opt for keywords with high traffic and low competition.
Know your competitors
At K.I.S.S, we use Spyfu. Search for any domain and see every place they’ve shown up on Google: every keyword they’ve bought on AdWords, every organic rank, and every ad variation in the last 9 years.
Test and measure
Your early campaigns might flop. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t stick at it. Learn from your early mistakes and work out what works best for your market. Start with a smaller budget while you are in the testing phase and increase as you find your feet.
Track your ROI
Measure the success of your PPC campaign. Google has free conversion tracking features in Google analytics, use it! Use conversion tracking to make decisions if you aren’t getting the ROI you need from bid management to keyword and ad copy and creative.
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